Speaking of Escalators
by doesitweighmorethanaduck
Summary: This is a pretty obscure crossover, I think, but whatever. Enjoy it anyway! :D It's pretty short, but this time I actually broke it up into chapterts, so it's not all bad. Yay! 3
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wonder if the DPPt chapter of the manga is well-known enough for anyone to like both it and Azumanga Daioh, and I really doubt that anyone will agree with this little crossover pairing I thought up. But I made it anyway, so here it is! (Oh, and also, I'm uploading all four chapters at once, heh heh…)**

I walk through the crowded shopping mall, wondering where my friends went. This doesn't look like the Pokèmart that Pearl, Lady, and I walked into half an hour ago. In fact, it looks totally different. Maybe I'm just in a different part of the mall?

At least there's a food court here, I think as I take a bite out of the sub sandwich that cost me almost ten dollars. A tad expensive, though.

According to a helpful sign on the wall, second floor is designer clothing. Lady will probably be there. I step onto an escalator, noticing a high school girl with a pink uniform and dark brown hair standing a few steps above me.

"Um, hey," I say tentatively, hoping she's nice. "I'm looking for my friends. Have you seen a blond boy and a girl with fancy clothes?"

I get no reaction. I wait patiently for a few seconds while I finish my sandwich before trying again.

"Hello, my name is Diamond. I'm a Pokémon trainer. What's your name?"

She slowly turns her head. Her eyes are the same colour as her hair, wide and deep, like they're staring right through me. She has her mouth open in a vacant smile.

"This is one of them escalators..."

I blink. She's kind of pretty, in a strange way. I wonder if she likes Proteam Omega.

"Yep," I agree, for lack of anything else to say, "it sure is."

"Y'see, sometimes Ah get 'em all confuzzled," she continues. "...hey, where'd Chiyo-chan go?"

"Who?"

"We was goin' shoppin' for bathing suits for our trip to her summer house," she explains. "Now Ah don't know where she is."

"Ohh." I think for a moment. "Then I guess we're both looking for someone."

"Oh, well, ain't that somethin'!" She grins. "Let's look together!"

"Wait, you still haven't told me your name." In case she didn't hear me the first time, I repeat, "My name is Diamond. Pearl calls me Dia sometimes."

"Ah'm Osaka." She blinks slowly, then shakes her head. "Ah mean, mah name is Ayumu Kasuga."

"Wow, that's a nice name."

I glance down at the floor, suddenly realizing that we had long stepped off the escalator and had been walking along the top floor for almost a full minute now without even noticing.

"Um, you said you were looking for bathing suits?" I say. "There's a display of them over there. How much money do you have on you?"

"Oh, Ah've got plenty."

"Great! Why don't you go-"

"...But Chiyo's carryin' all of it."

I think to myself that having a friend carry her money is probably a good idea. Then I remember...

"Wait a minute," I say. "She isn't here, is she? And that basically means that you don't have money."

"But Ah just said Ah had some..."

Sighing, I decide I'd like to get to know her a little better. Maybe she's on a Pokémon journey, too.

"Do you want to go back down, and maybe I can get you something from the food court?" I suggest. "Oh, and there's a little coffee shop just down the road, if you wanted-"

But her gaze is fixed on a young girl staring at a jewelry rack. Without saying anything, she starts to sort of drift towards her.

"Um, goodbye?" Somehow I doubt that the girl is actually her friend, but I'll let her figure that out for herself. "I'll see you later, okay, Osaka?"

"Bye, Dia-chan!" She waves at me quickly before ducking behind a clothing rack.

Well, I think, she was certainly an interesting girl. I'd like to talk to her again as soon as possible.

Shrugging, I head back downstairs. Maybe there's a sale on potions or something.


	2. Chapter 2

It turned out that girl wasn't Chiyo. Now Ah don't know where to go next. Wait, am Ah downstairs again? How'd Ah get down here?

Maybe if Ah could find that there Diamond again... he sure had a nice hat. It was like it was alive, y'know? Like a mushroom.

"Yeah, that's it," Ah mutter with satisfaction. "A mushroom."

Suddenly Ah hear somethin'. It's a voice callin' to me. Ah turn around an' see just who Ah was just thinkin' about.

"Hey, Ayumu!" Dia-chan is holdin' a couple of ice-cream cones. "Do you want to have a snack?"

"Ice cream?" Ah cain't hardly believe mah ears. "Is one of 'em for me?"

"Of course- if you want it, that is." He sits down on a bench, motionin' for me to join him. "I figured we should try to get to know each other better."

He hands me one of the cones. It's pale pink. Maybe it's heart flavoured?

"So, Ayumu, tell me about yourself," he begins. "Do you have Pokémon?"

"Pokémon..." Ah think hard. It does sound kinda familiar... "Ah don't think so."

"Well, I guess we can't have a battle, then." He licks his own ice cream cone, which is white. "But I can show you mine if you want."

Ah nod. But really mah eyes are fixed on his scarf. Somethin' just occurred to me about it.

"With a scarf like that, it must be dangerous to go fishin'..."

He blinks. Ah don't see what there is to be confused about.

"Y'know, 'cause of the hooks." Ah make a hook shape with mah hand so he understands. "It could get snagged."

"I suppose so..." He points to a video store. "Oh, look, there's a buy-one-get-one-free deal on the first two seasons of Proteam Omega. Do you have a DVD player?"

"Ah think so."

"Well, there goes the rest of my money," he says. "Pearl's gonna yell at me for spending it all..."

He goes inside, an' when he comes back out, he's got two DVDs with him. He explains the plot a bit, but Ah'm a bit confused. So he suggests that we go to mah house an' watch it together.

"What's your address?" He asks.

Ah tell him, an' he writes it down. Then we finish our ice cream. When we're done, we go outside so he can show me somethin'.

"See, this is the road we came here on." He points down the highway. "At least I think it is. It looks different, though."

"You're right, it is different." Ah point to the place where a telephone pole used to be. "There was a pole there. Ah remember crashin' into it on mah bicycle."

"Oh, you have a bicycle too?"

"Yep. Ah usually don't use it, though."

Ah look up. The sun's goin' down. It sure is pretty...

Diamond seems to think so too. He takes his hat off an' puts it in his lap. His hair's blowin' in the wind. Ah guess mine must be too.

"So, I guess I never asked of you prefer to be called Ayumu or Osaka," he says. "I just sort of assumed you like being called your real name."

The question takes me by surprise. Ah've never really thought about it. Everybody who knew about mah nickname called me by it all the time. Just the fact that Diamond was askin' made him feel special somehow.

"Well, Ah suppose Ah like bein' called Ayumu," Ah say slowly. "Osaka's sorta like what just mah friends call me."

His face sort of falls for a moment. Ah realize mah mistake.

"Ah mean, y'know, mah female friends."

He nods. We go back to lookin' at the sky, but neither of us says anythin' for a long while.

Maybe Ah said somethin' wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

I know she probably doesn't mean anything by it. And I don't feel upset on the slightest. But suddenly the atmosphere is so awkward. It feels like anything I say, or anything she says for that matter, would be the moment that whatever we had had going for the past half hour or so would end.

She opens her mouth to speak. I brace myself for her to ask for clarification as to what our relationship should be.

"Wouldn't it be nice to just fly away into the sunset?"

Instead of awkward and painful to answer questions, she's just thinking out loud. I let out a sigh of relief.

"If I was a flying-type Pokémon, I feel like I might sometimes," I admit. "But I'm stuck down here, and I'm fine with that."

"That's a right good philosophy."

After that, the silence resumes. It's sort of frustrating in a way.

Suddenly I get an inspiration. It's crazy, of course, but I decide it's worth a try.

"Speaking of Pokémon!"

She tilts her head. "Speakin' of Pokémon?" She repeats. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can buy items for them!"

"Ohh, is that right?"

"That's right! For instance, if you want to keep wild Pokémon away, you need a repel."

Now Ayumu is nodding, like she's taking it in.

"Ah suppose you must be right," she says. "Oh! An' what if you want to use 'em over an' over again?"

I blink. I wasn't expecting her to set up the punch line herself.

"...Then you need a re-repel!" I brace myself for a slap before remembering who's actually with me.

Surprisingly, she actually does give me a sort of half-hearted karate chop.

"What you mean?"

It's not exactly to script, but I basically just did a routine with someone who was a total stranger under an hour ago. I laugh, just because Ayumu Kasuga is amazing and I never want this evening to end.

I wonder if we can get through another.

"Different items have different prices," I say, hoping she'll catch on again. "Some things are hard to afford."

"Oh, Ah see what you mean."

"If you don't have enough money, there are plenty of ways to get it!"

"Right." She's thinking now, probably wondering what she should say next. "An' it'll all be worth it for a great item."

"Hmm..." I wrack my brain for a punchline. "Actually, I'm not really buying all this talk about buying things!"

"What you mean?" She whacks me again. Then she smiles. "That was right fun. How come you're so good at stand-up comedy?"

"Pearl and I are comedians," I explain. "The first one was one of our routines, but I just improvised the second one."

"Wahh, that's mighty impressive," she says. "Are ya'll famous or somethin'?"

"Hardly. We won a contest in Sandgem Town, but it's not like we're celebrities."

"You could be, though. Ah think you're good enough."

I blush.

"Thanks."

Ayumu sort of pokes at my cheek.

"How come your face is so red?" She asks. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." I give her a smile to let her know it's all right. "It's just that I don't get complimented like that very often."

The sun has gone down by this point, and it's getting dark pretty fast. I still haven't found Pearl or Lady, and Ayumu hasn't found her friend either.

"We should go," I mutter. "Why don't I take you home, and then I can head back here and try to find my friends."

"Okay..."

"It's and pity we don't have any money, or we could call a taxi," I sigh.

"Ah got money!"

"You do? But I thought you said-"

"Ah got it from the fountain." She pulls some coins out of her pocket. "Alright! Let's call a taxi!"

"It looks like enough," I agree. "Okay, let's go back in and find a phone to use."

We head back in a few minutes before closing time. I find a payphone and dial in the number for a taxi service while Ayumu waits.

In a few minutes, the cab arrives. We go outside and say goodbye.

"It sure was nice meetin' you, Dia-chan," she says. "...Or do you prefer Diamond?"

I shrug.

"I'm fine either way."

"Oh! Ah got somethin' for you..." She rummages about in her bag before pulling out a plastic container with a cupcake in it. "There was a bakery in the food court that Ah figured you just might enjoy somethin' from."

I open the container. The cupcake is decorated to look like a Turtwig. I smile.

"How did you know I had a Turtwig?"

"Huh?" She blinks. "Ah don't know..."

"Well, thank you," I say. "And with that, until next time, Ayumu Kasuga."

"Naw," she says. "Call me Osaka."

"But I thought you wanted-" I break off. It doesn't matter what she wants to be called. "Bye, Osaka."

"Bye, Diamond!" She climbs into the cab. I wave to her. Then I hear a voice coming from behind me.

"Hey, Dia! Where the heck have you been?!" It's Pearl. He's running up to me, with Lady following behind him. "We looked all over for you! You didn't get lost, did you?"

"Actually, I kind of did," I admit.

"Idiot!" He smacks me over the head. It's the kind of thing you get used to. "So, um, who was that girl?"

"Oh, that was Ayumu," I tell him. "Her nickname's Osaka. So, um, what have you been up to?"

"Well, first we bought some new outfits," says Lady. "Then we bought some jewelry. Then we tried massage chairs. Next we headed over to-"

"Yeah. You get the idea." Pearl still seems curious about Ayumu. "A better question might be, what exactly have you been up to?"

"Um, I bought her some stuff..." I tell them about our afternoon at the mall. "...It all felt really strange," I finish, "like she was from a different world."

"Wait a minute." Pearl is glaring at me. "When you said you bought things for Osaka..."

"There's no money left," I admit. "Sorry."

"Idiot!" He smacks me again. I'm not too surprised.

Still, I think as I gaze in the direction that her cab drove off in, it was worth it to see Ayumu smile at me like that.


	4. Chapter 4Epilogue

**A/N: I wrote this as the fourth chapter, but it's really more of an epilogue. I hope you're not too mad...**

After Ah say goodbye to Diamond, the taxi starts movin'. It's awful gentle compared to some vehicles Ah've been in. But Ah still don't like it one bit, 'cause it's takin' me away from Diamond.

The DVDs Dia gave me are in a bag clutched in mah hand. Ah reckon Ah'll watch 'em soon as Ah get home. Ah hope Ah hear from him again sometime.

Somehow, though, Ah don't feel like Ah will. Y'see, that's why Ah don't like it.

Suddenly the taxi right stops.

"We've reached your house, miss," the driver says. "You'll have to get out now."

"Oh..."

Ah don't remember much of that night. Ah remember callin' everyone to tell 'em what happened. Ah cain't quite recall what they all said, though.

That mornin', Ah get woken up by the phone ringin'.

"G'mornin', ya'll," Ah mutter. "...Dia-chan? Is that you?"

"What? No! This is Tomo!" She sounds impatient. "So, I've thought about it a lot, and I've decided that if you ever see that Diamond guy again, you've gotta hook me up with his friend Pearl."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you went on and on about Diamond and how he talked about his friend when you called me last night." Ah could hear somebody shoutin' at her from the background. "Shut up, Yomi! I don't care!"

"Yep, that Diamond sure was nice," Ah say. "He called himself a... what was it? A Pokémon trainer."

"What?!" Tomo sounds confused. "Osaka, are you sure he wasn't just making that up?

"What? Naw, Ah even saw a picture of one of 'em."

Ah hear her muttering to Yomi, an' then she hangs up. Ah get a similar call from Chiyo-chan a few minutes later. It's like nobody can believe that he was a Pokémon trainer.

When the phone rings a third time, Ah don't wanna answer. But Ah do anyway.

"Osaka, come to the book store." It's Sakaki this time, soundin' right concerned. "There's something you need to see."

When Ah get there, she grabs mah hand an' pulls me over to the graphic novel section.

"Why ya takin' me here?" Ah wonder. "Is Dia here?"

"Kind of." She stops to look at some kitty plushies for a second before pointing to a shelf. "...Look at the cover of that manga."

Ah crouch down. It says "Pokémon Adventures: Diamond and Pearl Platinum". There's a picture of three kids on the front.

One of 'em looks like Dia.

"Hey, that kid looks right the same as-"

"It is."

Ah go home not knowin' quite what to think. The DVDs he got me are gone. Mah maw says Ah came home last night ravin' 'bout some fictional character. Nobody knows what really happened to me, but they all agree it wasn't meetin' Diamond.

So then... what happened?

Whatever it was, Ah sure wish it'd happen again sometime.

The End


End file.
